When spring springs Summer 2016

When spring springs

    Spring officially arrives in late March. But for many the season begins with the Maritime Beef Test Station Sale. 
    The rafters in the Nappan sale barn hummed with excitement April 2 as a huge crowd exchanged news and told stories. It felt like a family reunion as friends and colleagues were greeted warmly with smiles, handshakes, and banter.
    They’d come from three provinces and from all branches of the industry—purebred and commercial breeders and cow-calf and feedlot operators—for the annual sale. 
    Veterans were wedged alongside young farmers who a few years earlier would have been content to play games under the stands. Small groups clustered outside pens and around fences to discuss breeding stock. 
    Everyone was optimistic. The weather was warm. It had been an easy winter. And beef prices were high.
    But the bids didn’t meet everyone’s expectations. The overall average price for Charolais, Limousin, and Angus bulls was lower than last year. 
    Then two Simmentals made their way into the ring. 
    Auctioneer Andy Carter did well to keep up with the flurry of bids that came from potential buyers in the seats and from across the country. The total hit $10,000 and kept on going. When the gavel finally came down at $16,000 the crowded sale barn erupted into cheers and applause.  HJ

Three generations of the Baxter family—Ules, his father, Walker, and his son, Quinn—who have a commercial herd in Sussex, New Brunswick, look over the Charolais bulls being sold in Nappan. (Heather Jones photo)